Interface to display animated icon

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to mobile computing technology and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to systems for generating and presenting a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a presentation of an animated icon (e.g., a digital pet) on a display of a client device.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/707,688, filed on Dec. 9, 2019,which is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/810,965, filed on Nov. 13, 2017, each ofwhich are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to mobilecomputing technology and, more particularly, but not by way oflimitation, to systems for generating and presenting a graphical userinterface that includes an animated icon at a client device.

BACKGROUND

Artificial human companions, such as digital pets, include hardware andsoftware designed to simulate and provide a form of entertainment andcompanionship to a person or persons. Digital pets are distinct in thatthey have no concrete physical form other than the hardware that theyrun on. Interactions with the digital pets may or may not be goaloriented.

Augmented reality (AR), is a live direct or indirect view of a physical,real-world environment whose elements are augmented bycomputer-generated sensory inputs.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, themost significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to thefigure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a networkin accordance with some embodiments, wherein the messaging systemincludes an animated icon system.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding amessaging system, according to example embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating data which may be stored inthe database of the messaging server system, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message,according to some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication for communication.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example access-limitingprocess, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeralmessage, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a contentcollection (e.g., an ephemeral message story) may be time-limited (e.g.,made ephemeral) in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating various modules of an animatedicon system, according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 7 includes depictions of various stages of a graphical userinterface that includes a presentation of an interactive animated icon,according to certain example embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for displaying and alteringa presentation of an animated icon at one or more client, according tocertain example embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for adjusting a displaystate model based on a user input, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for adjusting a displaystate model based on a user input, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 11 is a depiction of an animated icon, according to certain exampleembodiments.

FIG. 12A is a depiction of a display state model, according to certainexample embodiments.

FIG. 12B is a depiction of a set of user input types, according tocertain example embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a representative softwarearchitecture, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described and used to implement variousembodiments.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to mobilecomputing technology and, more particularly, but not by way oflimitation, to systems for generating and presenting a graphical userinterface (GUI) that includes a presentation of an animated icon (e.g.,a digital pet) on a display of a client device.

For example, the animated icon may include a virtual pet (e.g., a dog, acat, a fish, etc.). A user may interact with the virtual pet at theirrespective device, causing the presentation of the pet to change. Forexample, a user may provide inputs to interact with the pet and causethe pet to change “moods” or “emotional states.” In response, the petmay respond to the user based on a current mood or emotional state.

In some embodiments, particular interface details are presented toenable multiple users to interact with the same virtual pet in anaugmented reality environment. In some embodiments, the animated iconmay be associated with one or more user accounts, such that the animatedicon may be limited to display at the client devices of the one or moreassociated user accounts.

In some embodiments, the GUI may include an Augmented Reality (AR)interface, depicting a real-world space captured by a camera of theclient device, and wherein the animated icon is rendered at a locationwithin the real-world space depicted within the AR interface. In furtherembodiments, the GUI may simply comprise a message log that includes apresentation of one or more messages received at the client device.

In some example embodiments, the animated icon system may receive userinputs to interact with the animated icon through the GUI. For example,the user inputs may include inputs swiping, tapping, or otherwisetouching the presentation of the animated icon within the GUI. Inresponse to receiving the user input, the animated icon system mayaccess a display state model to determine a subsequent state of theanimated icon based on the user input. The animated icon system maythereby alter the presentation of the animated icon based on thedetermined state.

The display state model may include a two-axis space, wherein the X axisand the Y axis represent distinct attributes that may combine to form astate of the animated icon. For example, a position (e.g., X and Ycoordinates) of a state indicator within the two-axis space mayrepresent a state of the animated icon. User inputs received through theGUI may move the state indicator by incremental points along the X or Yaxis.

In some example embodiments, the two-axis space may be further segmentedinto sub-spaces which cover ranges of coordinates within the overalltwo-axis space. For example, the two-axis space may be segmented into 8distinct sub-spaces, wherein each sub-space represents a distinct stateof the animated icon. As the state indicator moves along the X and Yaxis of the display state model, a state of the animated icon may bedetermined based on a sub-space in which the state indicator lands.

The user input received through the GUI may have associated attributes,such as a duration, a speed, and a user input type. In some exampleembodiments, the animated icon system may determine an X-value and aY-value to increment the state indicator based on various attributes ofthe user input. For example, the user input may move the state indicatorby a positive value on the X-axis and a negative value on the Y-axis.

In some example embodiments, the animated icon system may apply athreshold value before determining whether or not to move the stateindicator. For example, the animated icon system may retrieve athreshold value based on a current state of the animated icon, andcompare attributes of the user input to the threshold value (e.g., aminimum or a maximum). Upon determining that one or more attributes ofthe user input transcends the threshold value, the animated icon systemmay move the state indicator within the display state model.

The animated icon system alters the presentation of the animated iconwithin the GUI based on a determined state of the animated icon (i.e.,based on the display state model). The altering of the presentation mayinclude causing the animated icon to execute an animation, or may causethe animated icon to animate in a particular manner based on thedetermined state. In some embodiments, the state of the animated iconmay determine how the user may interact with the animated icon and howthe animated icon may respond to the user's inputs.

Consider an illustrative example from the perspective of two users ofthe animated icon system, User-A and User-B. The pair of users may optto generate an animated icon via one or more user inputs, or in someexample embodiments, the animated icon system may automatically generateand present an animated icon to User-A and User-B in response to ananalysis of communication patterns of User-A and User-B, or based on acomparison of user attributes of User-A and User-B. For example, theanimated icon system may determine that User-A and User-B communicate ona daily basis, or that User-A and User-B are in a relationship with oneanother (based on user profile information of the users). In response,the animated icon system generates and display an animated icon atclient devices associated with User-A and User-B.

The animated icon may be displayed within communication channels betweenUser-A and User-B. For example, upon receiving a message from User-B ata device of User-A, the animated icon may appear within a GUI at thedevice of User-A. In further embodiments, the animated icon may appearat devices of User-A and User-B upon detecting User-A and User-B inproximity with one another (e.g., within 50 feet of one another).

User-A and User-B may interact with the animated icon at theirrespective devices. In some embodiments, if User-A and User-B are not inproximity with one another, the animated icon may only be displayed atone device at a given time. User-A and User-B may interact with theanimated icon, to cause the animated icon to change from one state toanother. In some embodiments, the users may alter the presentation ofthe animated icon by changing a color, style, or adding accessories tothe animated icon. The changes to the animated icon may be visible atboth devices.

For example, the animated icon may include a virtual pet (e.g., a dog, acat, a fish, etc.). User-A may interact with the virtual pet at theirrespective device, causing the pet to change states, wherein the statesmay be represented as a mood or emotional state of the virtual pet.Based on the interactions with the virtual pet, the virtual pet maytransition from being depicted as “sleepy,” to being depicted as“alert.” At a later time, User-B may display the virtual pet at theirrespective device and find that the virtual pet is “alert,” as a resultof User-A's interactions. User-B may similarly interact with the virtualpet.

In accordance with some embodiments described herein, an animated iconsystem may be or include any instrumentality or aggregate ofinstrumentalities operable to compute, process, store, display,generate, communicate, or apply various forms of data for generating aGUI that includes a presentation of an interactive, animated icon at aclient device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example messaging system 100 forexchanging data (e.g., messages and associated content) over a network.The messaging system 100 includes multiple client devices 102, each ofwhich hosts a number of applications including a messaging clientapplication 104. Each messaging client application 104 iscommunicatively coupled to other instances of the messaging clientapplication 104 and a messaging server system 108 via a network 106(e.g., the Internet).

Accordingly, each messaging client application 104 is able tocommunicate and exchange data with another messaging client application104 and with the messaging server system 108 via the network 106. Thedata exchanged between messaging client applications 104, and between amessaging client application 104 and the messaging server system 108,includes functions (e.g., commands to invoke functions) as well aspayload data (e.g., text, audio, video or other multimedia data).

The messaging server system 108 provides server-side functionality viathe network 106 to a particular messaging client application 104. Whilecertain functions of the messaging system 100 are described herein asbeing performed by either a messaging client application 104 or by themessaging server system 108, it will be appreciated that the location ofcertain functionality either within the messaging client application 104or the messaging server system 108 is a design choice. For example, itmay be technically preferable to initially deploy certain technology andfunctionality within the messaging server system 108, but to latermigrate this technology and functionality to the messaging clientapplication 104 where a client device 102 has a sufficient processingcapacity.

The messaging server system 108 supports various services and operationsthat are provided to the messaging client application 104. Suchoperations include transmitting data to, receiving data from, andprocessing data generated by the messaging client application 104. Insome embodiments, this data includes, message content, client deviceinformation, geolocation information, media annotation and overlays,message content persistence conditions, social network information, andlive event information, as examples. In other embodiments, other data isused. Data exchanges within the messaging system 100 are invoked andcontrolled through functions available via GUIs of the messaging clientapplication 104.

Turning now specifically to the messaging server system 108, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 110 is coupled to, andprovides a programmatic interface to, an application server 112. Theapplication server 112 is communicatively coupled to a database server118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which is stored dataassociated with messages processed by the application server 112.

Dealing specifically with the Application Program Interface (API) server110, this server receives and transmits message data (e.g., commands andmessage payloads) between the client device 102 and the applicationserver 112. Specifically, the Application Program Interface (API) server110 provides a set of interfaces (e.g., routines and protocols) that canbe called or queried by the messaging client application 104 in order toinvoke functionality of the application server 112. The ApplicationProgram Interface (API) server 110 exposes various functions supportedby the application server 112, including account registration, loginfunctionality, the sending of messages, via the application server 112,from a particular messaging client application 104 to another messagingclient application 104, the sending of media files (e.g., images orvideo) from a messaging client application 104 to the messaging serverapplication 114, and for possible access by another messaging clientapplication 104, the setting of a collection of media data (e.g.,story), the retrieval of a list of friends of a user of a client device102, the retrieval of such collections, the retrieval of messages andcontent, the adding and deletion of friends to a social graph, thelocation of friends within a social graph, opening and application event(e.g., relating to the messaging client application 104).

The application server 112 hosts a number of applications andsubsystems, including a messaging server application 114, an imageprocessing system 116, a social network system 122, and an animated iconsystem 124. The messaging server application 114 implements a number ofmessage processing technologies and functions, particularly related tothe aggregation and other processing of content (e.g., textual andmultimedia content) included in messages received from multipleinstances of the messaging client application 104. As will be describedin further detail, the text and media content from multiple sources maybe aggregated into collections of content (e.g., called stories orgalleries). These collections are then made available, by the messagingserver application 114, to the messaging client application 104. Otherprocessor and memory intensive processing of data may also be performedserver-side by the messaging server application 114, in view of thehardware requirements for such processing.

The application server 112 also includes an image processing system 116that is dedicated to performing various image processing operations,typically with respect to images or video received within the payload ofa message at the messaging server application 114.

The social network system 122 supports various social networkingfunctions services, and makes these functions and services available tothe messaging server application 114. To this end, the social networksystem 122 maintains and accesses an entity graph 304 within thedatabase 120. Examples of functions and services supported by the socialnetwork system 122 include the identification of other users of themessaging system 100 with which a particular user has relationships oris “following,” and also the identification of other entities andinterests of a particular user.

The application server 112 is communicatively coupled to a databaseserver 118, which facilitates access to a database 120 in which isstored data associated with messages processed by the messaging serverapplication 114.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating further details regarding themessaging system 100, according to example embodiments. Specifically,the messaging system 100 is shown to comprise the messaging clientapplication 104 and the application server 112, which in turn embody anumber of some subsystems, namely an ephemeral timer system 202, acollection management system 204 and an annotation system 206.

The ephemeral timer system 202 is responsible for enforcing thetemporary access to content permitted by the messaging clientapplication 104 and the messaging server application 114. To this end,the ephemeral timer system 202 incorporates a number of timers that,based on duration and display parameters associated with a message,collection of messages (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story), or graphical element,selectively display and enable access to messages and associated contentvia the messaging client application 104. Further details regarding theoperation of the ephemeral timer system 202 are provided below.

The collection management system 204 is responsible for managingcollections of media (e.g., collections of text, image video and audiodata). In some examples, a collection of content (e.g., messages,including images, video, text and audio) may be organized into an “eventgallery” or an “event story.” Such a collection may be made availablefor a specified time period, such as the duration of an event to whichthe content relates. For example, content relating to a music concertmay be made available as a “story” for the duration of that musicconcert. The collection management system 204 may also be responsiblefor publishing an icon that provides notification of the existence of aparticular collection to the user interface of the messaging clientapplication 104.

The collection management system 204 furthermore includes a curationinterface 208 that allows a collection manager to manage and curate aparticular collection of content. For example, the curation interface208 enables an event organizer to curate a collection of contentrelating to a specific event (e.g., delete inappropriate content orredundant messages). Additionally, the collection management system 204employs machine vision (or image recognition technology) and contentrules to automatically curate a content collection. In certainembodiments, compensation may be paid to a user for inclusion of usergenerated content into a collection. In such cases, the curationinterface 208 operates to automatically make payments to such users forthe use of their content.

The annotation system 206 provides various functions that enable a userto annotate or otherwise modify or edit media content associated with amessage. For example, the annotation system 206 provides functionsrelated to the generation and publishing of media overlays for messagesprocessed by the messaging system 100. The annotation system 206operatively supplies a media overlay (e.g., a SNAPCHAT filter) to themessaging client application 104 based on a geolocation of the clientdevice 102. In another example, the annotation system 206 operativelysupplies a media overlay to the messaging client application 104 basedon other information, such as, social network information of the user ofthe client device 102. A media overlay may include audio and visualcontent and visual effects. Examples of audio and visual content includepictures, texts, logos, animations, and sound effects. An example of avisual effect includes color overlaying. The audio and visual content orthe visual effects can be applied to a media content item (e.g., aphoto) at the client device 102. For example, the media overlayincluding text that can be overlaid on top of a photograph generatedtaken by the client device 102. In another example, the media overlayincludes an identification of a location overlay (e.g., Venice beach), aname of a live event, or a name of a merchant overlay (e.g., BeachCoffee House). In another example, the annotation system 206 uses thegeolocation of the client device 102 to identify a media overlay thatincludes the name of a merchant at the geolocation of the client device102. The media overlay may include other indicia associated with themerchant. The media overlays may be stored in the database 120 andaccessed through the database server 118.

In one example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides auser-based publication platform that enables users to select ageolocation on a map, and upload content associated with the selectedgeolocation. The user may also specify circumstances under which aparticular media overlay should be offered to other users. Theannotation system 206 generates a media overlay that includes theuploaded content and associates the uploaded content with the selectedgeolocation.

In another example embodiment, the annotation system 206 provides amerchant-based publication platform that enables merchants to select aparticular media overlay associated with a geolocation via a biddingprocess. For example, the annotation system 206 associates the mediaoverlay of a highest bidding merchant with a corresponding geolocationfor a predefined amount of time

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram 300 illustrating data 300 which may bestored in the database 120 of the messaging server system 108, accordingto certain example embodiments. While the content of the database 120 isshown to comprise a number of tables, it will be appreciated that thedata could be stored in other types of data structures (e.g., as anobject-oriented database).

The database 120 includes message data stored within a message table314. The entity table 302 stores entity data, including an entity graph304. Entities for which records are maintained within the entity table302 may include individuals, corporate entities, organizations, objects,places, events etc. Regardless of type, any entity regarding which themessaging server system 108 stores data may be a recognized entity. Eachentity is provided with a unique identifier, as well as an entity typeidentifier (not shown).

The entity graph 304 furthermore stores information regardingrelationships and associations between entities. Such relationships maybe social, professional (e.g., work at a common corporation ororganization) interested-based or activity-based, merely for example.

The database 120 also stores annotation data, in the example form offilters, in an annotation table 312. Filters for which data is storedwithin the annotation table 312 are associated with and applied tovideos (for which data is stored in a video table 310) and/or images(for which data is stored in an image table 308). Filters, in oneexample, are overlays that are displayed as overlaid on an image orvideo during presentation to a recipient user. Filters may be of variestypes, including a user-selected filters from a gallery of filterspresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104 whenthe sending user is composing a message. Other types of filers includegeolocation filters (also known as geo-filters) which may be presentedto a sending user based on geographic location. For example, geolocationfilters specific to a neighborhood or special location may be presentedwithin a user interface by the messaging client application 104, basedon geolocation information determined by a GPS unit of the client device102. Another type of filer is a data filer, which may be selectivelypresented to a sending user by the messaging client application 104,based on other inputs or information gathered by the client device 102during the message creation process. Example of data filters includecurrent temperature at a specific location, a current speed at which asending user is traveling, battery life for a client device 102 or thecurrent time.

Other annotation data that may be stored within the image table 308 isso-called “lens” data. A “lens” may be a real-time special effect andsound that may be added to an image or a video.

As mentioned above, the video table 310 stores video data which, in oneembodiment, is associated with messages for which records are maintainedwithin the message table 314. Similarly, the image table 308 storesimage data associated with messages for which message data is stored inthe entity table 302. The entity table 302 may associate variousannotations from the annotation table 312 with various images and videosstored in the image table 308 and the video table 310.

A story table 306 stores data regarding collections of messages andassociated image, video or audio data, which are compiled into acollection (e.g., a SNAPCHAT story or a gallery). The creation of aparticular collection may be initiated by a particular user (e.g., eachuser for which a record is maintained in the entity table 302) A usermay create a “personal story” in the form of a collection of contentthat has been created and sent/broadcast by that user. To this end, theuser interface of the messaging client application 104 may include anicon that is user selectable to enable a sending user to add specificcontent to his or her personal story.

A collection may also constitute a “live story,” which is a collectionof content from multiple users that is created manually, automaticallyor using a combination of manual and automatic techniques. For example,a “live story” may constitute a curated stream of user-submitted contentfrom varies locations and events. Users, whose client devices havelocation services enabled and are at a common location event at aparticular time may, for example, be presented with an option, via auser interface of the messaging client application 104, to contributecontent to a particular live story. The live story may be identified tothe user by the messaging client application 104, based on his or herlocation. The end result is a “live story” told from a communityperspective.

A further type of content collection is known as a “location story”,which enables a user whose client device 102 is located within aspecific geographic location (e.g., on a college or university campus)to contribute to a particular collection. In some embodiments, acontribution to a location story may require a second degree ofauthentication to verify that the end user belongs to a specificorganization or other entity (e.g., is a student on the universitycampus).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure of a message 400,according to some in some embodiments, generated by a messaging clientapplication 104 for communication to a further messaging clientapplication 104 or the messaging server application 114. The content ofa particular message 400 is used to populate the message table 314stored within the database 120, accessible by the messaging serverapplication 114. Similarly, the content of a message 400 is stored inmemory as “in-transit” or “in-flight” data of the client device 102 orthe application server 112. The message 400 is shown to include thefollowing components:

-   -   A message identifier 402: a unique identifier that identifies        the message 400.    -   A message text payload 404: text, to be generated by a user via        a user interface of the client device 102 and that is included        in the message 400.    -   A message image payload 406: image data, captured by a camera        component of a client device 102 or retrieved from memory of a        client device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message video payload 408: video data, captured by a camera        component or retrieved from a memory component of the client        device 102 and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message audio payload 410: audio data, captured by a        microphone or retrieved from the memory component of the client        device 102, and that is included in the message 400.    -   A message annotations 412: annotation data (e.g., filters,        stickers or other enhancements) that represents annotations to        be applied to message image payload 406, message video payload        408, or message audio payload 410 of the message 400.    -   A message duration parameter 414: parameter value indicating, in        seconds, the amount of time for which content of the message        (e.g., the message image payload 406, message video payload 408,        message audio payload 410) is to be presented or made accessible        to a user via the messaging client application 104.    -   A message geolocation parameter 416: geolocation data (e.g.,        latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates) associated with the        content payload of the message. Multiple message geolocation        parameter 416 values may be included in the payload, each of        these parameter values being associated with respect to content        items included in the content (e.g., a specific image into        within the message image payload 406, or a specific video in the        message video payload 408).    -   A message story identifier 418: identifier values identifying        one or more content collections (e.g., “stories”) with which a        particular content item in the message image payload 406 of the        message 400 is associated. For example, multiple images within        the message image payload 406 may each be associated with        multiple content collections using identifier values.    -   A message tag 420: each message 400 may be tagged with multiple        tags, each of which is indicative of the subject matter of        content included in the message payload. For example, where a        particular image included in the message image payload 406        depicts an animal (e.g., a lion), a tag value may be included        within the message tag 420 that is indicative of the relevant        animal. Tag values may be generated manually, based on user        input, or may be automatically generated using, for example,        image recognition.    -   A message sender identifier 422: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address or device identifier)        indicative of a user of the client device 102 on which the        message 400 was generated and from which the message 400 was        sent    -   A message receiver identifier 424: an identifier (e.g., a        messaging system identifier, email address or device identifier)        indicative of a user of the client device 102 to which the        message 400 is addressed.

The contents (e.g. values) of the various components of message 400 maybe pointers to locations in tables within which content data values arestored. For example, an image value in the message image payload 406 maybe a pointer to (or address of) a location within an image table 308.Similarly, values within the message video payload 408 may point to datastored within a video table 310, values stored within the messageannotations 412 may point to data stored in an annotation table 312,values stored within the message story identifier 418 may point to datastored in a story table 306, and values stored within the message senderidentifier 422 and the message receiver identifier 424 may point to userrecords stored within an entity table 302.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an access-limiting process500, in terms of which access to content (e.g., an ephemeral message502, and associated multimedia payload of data) or a content collection(e.g., an ephemeral message story 504) may be time-limited (e.g., madeephemeral).

An ephemeral message 502 is shown to be associated with a messageduration parameter 506, the value of which determines an amount of timethat the ephemeral message 502 will be displayed to a receiving user ofthe ephemeral message 502 by the messaging client application 104. Inone embodiment, where the messaging client application 104 is a SNAPCHATapplication client, an ephemeral message 502 is viewable by a receivinguser for up to a maximum of 10 seconds, depending on the amount of timethat the sending user specifies using the message duration parameter506.

The message duration parameter 506 and the message receiver identifier424 are shown to be inputs to a message timer 512, which is responsiblefor determining the amount of time that the ephemeral message 502 isshown to a particular receiving user identified by the message receiveridentifier 424. In particular, the ephemeral message 502 will only beshown to the relevant receiving user for a time period determined by thevalue of the message duration parameter 506. The message timer 512 isshown to provide output to a more generalized ephemeral timer system202, which is responsible for the overall timing of display of content(e.g., an ephemeral message 502) to a receiving user.

The ephemeral message 502 is shown in FIG. 5 to be included within anephemeral message story 504 (e.g., a personal SNAPCHAT story, or anevent story). The ephemeral message story 504 has an associated storyduration parameter 508, a value of which determines a time-duration forwhich the ephemeral message story 504 is presented and accessible tousers of the messaging system 100. The story duration parameter 508, forexample, may be the duration of a music concert, where the ephemeralmessage story 504 is a collection of content pertaining to that concert.Alternatively, a user (either the owning user or a curator user) mayspecify the value for the story duration parameter 508 when performingthe setup and creation of the ephemeral message story 504.

Additionally, each ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral messagestory 504 has an associated story participation parameter 510, a valueof which determines the duration of time for which the ephemeral message502 will be accessible within the context of the ephemeral message story504. Accordingly, a particular ephemeral message story 504 may “expire”and become inaccessible within the context of the ephemeral messagestory 504, prior to the ephemeral message story 504 itself expiring interms of the story duration parameter 508. The story duration parameter508, story participation parameter 510, and message receiver identifier424 each provide input to a story timer 514, which operationallydetermines, firstly, whether a particular ephemeral message 502 of theephemeral message story 504 will be displayed to a particular receivinguser and, if so, for how long. Note that the ephemeral message story 504is also aware of the identity of the particular receiving user as aresult of the message receiver identifier 424.

Accordingly, the story timer 514 operationally controls the overalllifespan of an associated ephemeral message story 504, as well as anindividual ephemeral message 502 included in the ephemeral message story504. In one embodiment, each and every ephemeral message 502 within theephemeral message story 504 remains viewable and accessible for atime-period specified by the story duration parameter 508. In a furtherembodiment, a certain ephemeral message 502 may expire, within thecontext of ephemeral message story 504, based on a story participationparameter 510. Note that a message duration parameter 506 may stilldetermine the duration of time for which a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, even within the context of theephemeral message story 504. Accordingly, the message duration parameter506 determines the duration of time that a particular ephemeral message502 is displayed to a receiving user, regardless of whether thereceiving user is viewing that ephemeral message 502 inside or outsidethe context of an ephemeral message story 504.

The ephemeral timer system 202 may furthermore operationally remove aparticular ephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message story 504based on a determination that it has exceeded an associated storyparticipation parameter 510. For example, when a sending user hasestablished a story participation parameter 510 of 24 hours fromposting, the ephemeral timer system 202 will remove the relevantephemeral message 502 from the ephemeral message story 504 after thespecified 24 hours. The ephemeral timer system 202 also operates toremove an ephemeral message story 504 either when the storyparticipation parameter 510 for each and every ephemeral message 502within the ephemeral message story 504 has expired, or when theephemeral message story 504 itself has expired in terms of the storyduration parameter 508.

In certain use cases, a creator of a particular ephemeral message story504 may specify an indefinite story duration parameter 508. In thiscase, the expiration of the story participation parameter 510 for thelast remaining ephemeral message 502 within the ephemeral message story504 will determine when the ephemeral message story 504 itself expires.In this case, a new ephemeral message 502, added to the ephemeralmessage story 504, with a new story participation parameter 510,effectively extends the life of an ephemeral message story 504 to equalthe value of the story participation parameter 510.

Responsive to the ephemeral timer system 202 determining that anephemeral message story 504 has expired (e.g., is no longer accessible),the ephemeral timer system 202 communicates with the messaging system100 (and, for example, specifically the messaging client application 104to cause an indicium (e.g., an icon) associated with the relevantephemeral message story 504 to no longer be displayed within a userinterface of the messaging client application 104. Similarly, when theephemeral timer system 202 determines that the message durationparameter 506 for a particular ephemeral message 502 has expired, theephemeral timer system 202 causes the messaging client application 104to no longer display an indicium (e.g., an icon or textualidentification) associated with the ephemeral message 502.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components of the animated iconsystem 124, that configure the animated icon system 124 to generate andcause display of an interactive, animated icon at one or more clientdevices, receive user inputs interacting with the animated icons, adjusta display state model associated with the animated icon, determine astate of the animated icon based on the display state model, and alterthe presentation of the animated icon at the one or more client devicesbased on the state, according to some example embodiments. The animatedicon system 124 is shown as including an interface module 602, a userinput module 604, a display state module 606, and a presentation module608, all configured to communicate with each other (e.g., via a bus,shared memory, or a switch). Any one or more of these modules may beimplemented using one or more processors 610 (e.g., by configuring suchone or more processors to perform functions described for that module)and hence may include one or more of the processors 610.

Any one or more of the modules described may be implemented usinghardware alone (e.g., one or more of the processors 610 of a machine) ora combination of hardware and software. For example, any moduledescribed of the animated icon system 124 may physically include anarrangement of one or more of the processors 610 (e.g., a subset of oramong the one or more processors of the machine) configured to performthe operations described herein for that module. As another example, anymodule of the animated icon system 124 may include software, hardware,or both, that configure an arrangement of one or more processors 610(e.g., among the one or more processors of the machine) to perform theoperations described herein for that module. Accordingly, differentmodules of the animated icon system 124 may include and configuredifferent arrangements of such processors 610 or a single arrangement ofsuch processors 610 at different points in time. Moreover, any two ormore modules of the animated icon system 124 may be combined into asingle module, and the functions described herein for a single modulemay be subdivided among multiple modules. Furthermore, according tovarious example embodiments, modules described herein as beingimplemented within a single machine, database, or device may bedistributed across multiple machines, databases, or devices.

FIG. 7 includes depictions of stages of a GUI displayed at a clientdevice 102 (stage 7A, stage 7B, and stage 7C), that includes apresentation of an animated icon 702, according to certain exampleembodiments.

At stage 7A, the interface module 602 may display a presentation of areal-world space based on image data captured by a camera of the clientdevice 102. The presentation module 608 generates and causes display ofthe animated icon 702 at a location within the GUI. As seen in FIG. 7 ,the animated icon may include a digital/virtual pet, such as a dog. Insome embodiments, a user may select the type of virtual pet from among aselection of virtual pets, while in further embodiments, the type ofvirtual pet may be determined based on user interaction data. Forexample, the virtual pet may initially be displayed as an egg which oneor more users may interact with. Based on the interactions with the egg,the animated icon system 124 may determine a virtual pet type.

At stage 7B, the interface module 602 receives a user input at alocation of the animated icon 702 within the GUI. For example, theclient device 102 may be a touch enabled device. In some embodiments,the presentation module 608 may cause display of an indication of theuser input, such as by a finger-tracking element 706.

In response to receiving the user input, the interface module 602 mayexpand a “petting mode carousel” 704 that includes a presentation of aset of user input types. The user may select a user input type fromamong the set of user input types. The type of user input may affect howthe display state module is adjusted in order to determine a state ofthe animated icon.

At stage 7C, the presentation module 608 alters the presentation of theanimated icon 702 based on the user input. For example, the presentationmodule may cause the animated icon 702 to appear “happy,” or “loved,”through the display of an indication of a state change 708.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method 800 for displaying andaltering a presentation of an animated icon at one or more clientdevices (e.g., client devices 102), according to certain exampleembodiments. Operations of the method 800 may be performed by themodules described above with respect to FIG. 6 . As shown in FIG. 8 ,the method 800 includes one or more operations 802, 804, 806, 808, and810.

At operation 802, the interface module 602 causes the client device 102to display a GUI that include a presentation of an animated icon at alocation within the GUI. For example, in some embodiments the animatedicon may include a digital/virtual pet presented within an augmentedreality presentation of a real-world space proximate to the clientdevice. In further embodiments, the animated icon may include adigital/virtual pet presented at a location within a chat or messagefeed that includes a series of communications between two or more users.

In further embodiments, the animated icon may be presented in oneinterface or another based on one or more inputs that define a contextof a communication between the two or more users. For example, theinterface module 602 may determine that two or more users have initiateda video chat communication session, that a camera of the client device102 has been activated to capture a picture or video to be sent from oneclient device to another client device, or that two or more clientdevice associated with the animated icon are proximate to one another(e.g., based on geolocation data).

For example, the interface module 602 may receive one or more inputsfrom a set of client devices associated with the animated icon (e.g., afirst client device and a second client device), wherein the one or moreinputs specify locations of the client devices. The one or more inputsmay include check-in request data, or GPS data that specifies locationsof each client device among the set of client devices. Based on the oneor more inputs, the interface module 602 may determine that the set ofclient devices are within a predefined proximity of one another. In someexample embodiments, users of the set of client devices associated withthe animated icon may provide inputs that define the predefineddistance. For example, the user may specify that the animated iconshould appear in the GUI when the users are a distance from one another(e.g., within 500 meters of one another, checked in at the samelocation, in the same time-zone).

In further embodiments, the interface module 602 may cause display ofthe animated icon within GUIs of devices associated with the animatedicon in response to detecting an initiation of a communication sessionbetween the devices. For example, the interface module 602 may receiveinputs indicating that a video chat, a text message conversation, or anephemeral message was sent/initiated between the set of client devicesassociated with the animated icon. In response to detecting theinitiation of the communication session, the interface module 602generates and causes display of the presentation of the animated icon atthe respective GUIs of the associated client devices.

In some example embodiments, the presentation of the animated iconwithin the GUI may be based on attributes of the GUI itself. Forexample, the client device 102 may include multiple cameras, such as afront facing camera and a rear facing camera. The presentation of theanimated icon may be based on which camera is being used by the user.For example, the presentation of the animated icon may be stylized basedon which camera is activated, or a greater level of detail of theanimated icon may be rendered based on which camera is activated.

At operation 804, the user input module 604 detects a user input at theclient device 102. The user input may for example a tactile input into atouch screen of the client device 102, wherein the user input isreceived at the location within the GUI that includes the presentationof the animated icon. The user input may for example include tactileinputs from a user in the client device 102, swiping, tapping, flicking,or petting the presentation of the animated icon within the GUI.

In some example embodiments, in response to detecting the user input atthe client device 102, the presentation module 608 may cause display ofan indication of the user input at a location in the GUI where the userinput was received. For example, the indication of the user input mayinclude a finger-tracking visual effect that tracks the user input inreal-time. For example, the visual effect may include a transparentfinger icon that follows the user input as it is received, or a trail ofglittering and sparkling elements (e.g., a comet tail). In someembodiments, the visual effect may be based on attributes of the userinput itself. For example, the visual effect may vary (e.g., color,shape, duration on screen, size) based on whether the user input istapping, swiping, pressing, flicking, or just touching and holding.

At operation 806, the display state module 606 adjusts a display statemodel associated with the animated icon based on the user input. Thedisplay state model may include a two-axis space where coordinates of apoint located within the two-axis space define a state of the animatedicon. The display state module 606 may adjust a position of the pointlocated within the two-axis space based on the user inputs receivedthrough the GUI, wherein the user input may comprise one or more inputattributes including, for example, an input duration, a user input type,and a user input style.

In some embodiments, the state of the animated icon may initially beginat the center of the two-axis space, and move based on user inputs anduser interactions with the animated icon. For example, the state mayreset to the center (or another position) within the two-axis spaceevery time the animated icon is initially displayed at a client device102, while in other example embodiments, the display state module 606may save a final state of the animated icon in response to receiving aninput from the user that closes or obstructs the GUI at the clientdevice 102 (e.g., sleep mode, closes app, launches different app). Insome embodiments, the display state model may be segmented into a set ofsub-spaces, wherein each sub-space corresponds to a state of theanimated icon. The state of the animated icon may therefore bedetermined based on which sub-space the point lands.

At operation 810, the presentation module 608 alters the presentation ofthe animated icon based on the state. The presentation module 608 maycause the animated icon to perform an animation, or to adjust or changea color, size, or feature of the animated icon based on the state.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method 900 for adjusting a displaystate model based on a user input, according to certain exampleembodiments. Operations of the method 900 may be performed by themodules described above with respect to FIG. 6 . As shown in FIG. 9 ,the method 900 includes one or more operations 902, 904, and 906.

At operation 902, the interface module 602 activates and displays apresentation of a set of user input types (e.g., “petting mode carousel”704 of FIG. 7 ). The user may select a user input type from among theset of user input types. The type of user input may affect how thedisplay state module is adjusted in order to determine a state of theanimated icon.

At operation 904, the interface module 602 receives a selection of auser input type from among the set of user input types displayed in thepresentation. Each user input type may cause the display state module606 to move or adjust a location of a point within the display statemodel by an amount and in a direction, based on attributes of the userinput that include the user input type.

At operation 906, the display state module 606 increments the pointwithin the display state model based on the user input. For example, thedisplay state module 606 may move the point up by a value on the Y-axisand to the left by another value on the X-axis, wherein the directionand the value are based on attributes of the user input.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 for adjusting adisplay state model based on a user input, according to certain exampleembodiments. Operations of the method 1000 may be performed by themodules described above with respect to FIG. 6 . As shown in FIG. 10 ,the method 900 includes one or more operations 1002, 1004, 1006, and1008.

At operation 1002, the user input module 604 determines attributes of auser input received at the client device 102. User input attributes mayfor example include, a user input type (e.g., based on a selection fromamong a set of user input types), user input duration, and user inputstyle (e.g., tapping, swiping, petting, touching, etc.).

In response to receiving the user input, the user input module 604retrieves a threshold value, wherein the threshold value may be based onthe user input type. The threshold value may for example include amaximum and/or minimum amount of time for the user input in order for achange in the display state model to occur. For example, the thresholdmay require that the user input duration is greater than 2 seconds, butless than 10 seconds.

At operation 1006, the user input module 604 determines that the userinput duration of the user input transgresses the threshold valueassociated with the user input type. At operation 1008, the displaystate module 606 adjust the display state model based on the user input.

FIG. 11 is a depiction of an animated icon 1102, as discussed above. Asseen in FIG. 11 , the animated icon 1102 may be a virtual pet, such as acat. The particles 1104 may be displayed by the presentation module 608in response to the user input module 604 detecting an input at theclient device 102, as described in operation 804 of the method 800depicted in FIG. 8 . In some embodiments, attributes and properties ofthe particles 1104 may be based on attributes of the user input. Forexample, the color, shape, style, and brightness of the particles 1104may vary based on user input type, user input duration, user inputstyle, and so on.

FIG. 12A is a depiction 1200A of a display state model 1202. As seen inFIG. 12A, the display state model 1202 may comprise two axes (e.g.,labeled E and H in FIG. 12A), may be divided into a set of sub-spaces(e.g., sub-space 1204), and may include a state indicator 1206 (e.g., apoint within the two-axis space), wherein the location of the stateindicator 1206 within the display state model 1202 defines a state of anassociated animated icon.

In some example embodiments, the axes of the display state model maycorrespond to an “energy” level (e.g., the Y-axis), and a “happiness”level (e.g., the X-axis), of the associated animated icon. As seen inFIG. 12A, the display state model 1202 may be divided into a set ofsub-spaces (e.g., sub-space 1204), wherein each sub-space may correspondto a potential state of the animated icon.

As the state indicator traverses the display state model 1202 based onthe user inputs (e.g., as discussed with respond to the methods 800,900, and 1000), the state of the animated icon may change accordingly.For example, the state indicator 1206 is depicted in FIG. 12A as beinglocated within the sub-space 1204, which correspond to a “relaxed”state.

FIG. 12B is a depiction 1200B of a set of user input types, andassociated attributes that correspond to those user input types. Asdiscussed with respect to the method 900 of FIG. 9 , a user may select auser input type from among a set of user input types, and the displaystate module 606 may adjust a point (e.g., state indicator) within anassociated display state model (e.g., display state model 1202 of FIG.12A) based on attributes associated with the user input.

As seen in FIG. 12B, each user input type may have a correspondingparticle type to be displayed within the GUI in response to detectingthe user input, and as depicted by the particles 1104 of FIG. 11 . Forexample, in response to receiving a selection of the “loving” user inputtype, the presentation module 608 may cause display of “heartparticles,” increment the state indicator by a positive value on theaxis corresponding to “happiness” (e.g., the Y-axis of display statemodel 1202 of FIG. 12A), and no change on the axis corresponding to“energy” (e.g., the X-axis of display state model 1202 of FIG. 12A).

Software Architecture

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example software architecture1306, which may be used in conjunction with various hardwarearchitectures herein described. FIG. 13 is a non-limiting example of asoftware architecture and it will be appreciated that many otherarchitectures may be implemented to facilitate the functionalitydescribed herein. The software architecture 1306 may execute on hardwaresuch as machine 1400 of FIG. 14 that includes, among other things,processors 1404, memory 1414, and I/O components 1418. A representativehardware layer 1352 is illustrated and can represent, for example, themachine 1300 of FIG. 13 . The representative hardware layer 1352includes a processing unit 1354 having associated executableinstructions 1304. Executable instructions 1304 represent the executableinstructions of the software architecture 1306, including implementationof the methods, components and so forth described herein. The hardwarelayer 1352 also includes memory and/or storage modules memory/storage1356, which also have executable instructions 1304. The hardware layer1352 may also comprise other hardware 1358.

In the example architecture of FIG. 13 , the software architecture 1306may be conceptualized as a stack of layers where each layer providesparticular functionality. For example, the software architecture 1306may include layers such as an operating system 1302, libraries 1320,applications 1316 and a presentation layer 1314. Operationally, theapplications 1316 and/or other components within the layers may invokeapplication programming interface (API) API calls 1308 through thesoftware stack and receive a response as in response to the API calls1308. The layers illustrated are representative in nature and not allsoftware architectures have all layers. For example, some mobile orspecial purpose operating systems may not provide aframeworks/middleware 1318, while others may provide such a layer. Othersoftware architectures may include additional or different layers.

The operating system 1302 may manage hardware resources and providecommon services. The operating system 1302 may include, for example, akernel 1322, services 1324 and drivers 1326. The kernel 1322 may act asan abstraction layer between the hardware and the other software layers.For example, the kernel 1322 may be responsible for memory management,processor management (e.g., scheduling), component management,networking, security settings, and so on. The services 1324 may provideother common services for the other software layers. The drivers 1326are responsible for controlling or interfacing with the underlyinghardware. For instance, the drivers 1326 include display drivers, cameradrivers, Bluetooth® drivers, flash memory drivers, serial communicationdrivers (e.g., Universal Serial Bus (USB) drivers), Wi-Fi® drivers,audio drivers, power management drivers, and so forth depending on thehardware configuration.

The libraries 1320 provide a common infrastructure that is used by theapplications 1316 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries1320 provide functionality that allows other software components toperform tasks in an easier fashion than to interface directly with theunderlying operating system 1302 functionality (e.g., kernel 1322,services 1324 and/or drivers 1326). The libraries 1320 may includesystem libraries 1344 (e.g., C standard library) that may providefunctions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulationfunctions, mathematical functions, and the like. In addition, thelibraries 1320 may include API libraries 1346 such as media libraries(e.g., libraries to support presentation and manipulation of variousmedia format such as MPREG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, PNG), graphicslibraries (e.g., an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and3D in a graphic content on a display), database libraries (e.g., SQLitethat may provide various relational database functions), web libraries(e.g., WebKit that may provide web browsing functionality), and thelike. The libraries 1320 may also include a wide variety of otherlibraries 1348 to provide many other APIs to the applications 1316 andother software components/modules.

The frameworks/middleware 1318 (also sometimes referred to asmiddleware) provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may beused by the applications 1316 and/or other software components/modules.For example, the frameworks/middleware 1318 may provide various graphicuser interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management,high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware1318 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that may be utilized bythe applications 1316 and/or other software components/modules, some ofwhich may be specific to a particular operating system 1302 or platform.

The applications 1316 include built-in applications 1338 and/orthird-party applications 1340. Examples of representative built-inapplications 1338 may include, but are not limited to, a contactsapplication, a browser application, a book reader application, alocation application, a media application, a messaging application,and/or a game application. Third-party applications 1340 may include anapplication developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ software developmentkit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform,and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such asIOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. Thethird-party applications 1340 may invoke the API calls 1308 provided bythe mobile operating system (such as operating system 1302) tofacilitate functionality described herein.

The applications 1316 may use built in operating system functions (e.g.,kernel 1322, services 1324 and/or drivers 1326), libraries 1320, andframeworks/middleware 1318 to create user interfaces to interact withusers of the system. Alternatively, or additionally, in some systemsinteractions with a user may occur through a presentation layer, such aspresentation layer 1314. In these systems, the application/component“logic” can be separated from the aspects of the application/componentthat interact with a user.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating components of a machine 1400,according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from amachine-readable medium (e.g., a machine-readable storage medium) andperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.Specifically, FIG. 14 shows a diagrammatic representation of the machine1400 in the example form of a computer system, within which instructions1410 (e.g., software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, orother executable code) for causing the machine 1400 to perform any oneor more of the methodologies discussed herein may be executed. As such,the instructions 1410 may be used to implement modules or componentsdescribed herein. The instructions 1410 transform the general,non-programmed machine 1400 into a particular machine 1400 programmed tocarry out the described and illustrated functions in the mannerdescribed. In alternative embodiments, the machine 1400 operates as astandalone device or may be coupled (e.g., networked) to other machines.In a networked deployment, the machine 1400 may operate in the capacityof a server machine or a client machine in a server-client networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment. The machine 1400 may comprise, but not be limitedto, a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer (PC), atablet computer, a laptop computer, a netbook, a set-top box (STB), apersonal digital assistant (PDA), an entertainment media system, acellular telephone, a smart phone, a mobile device, a wearable device(e.g., a smart watch), a smart home device (e.g., a smart appliance),other smart devices, a web appliance, a network router, a networkswitch, a network bridge, or any machine capable of executing theinstructions 1410, sequentially or otherwise, that specify actions to betaken by machine 1400. Further, while only a single machine 1400 isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include acollection of machines that individually or jointly execute theinstructions 1410 to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

The machine 1400 may include processors 1404, memory memory/storage1406, and I/O components 1418, which may be configured to communicatewith each other such as via a bus 1402. The memory/storage 1406 mayinclude a memory 1414, such as a main memory, or other memory storage,and a storage unit 1416, both accessible to the processors 1404 such asvia the bus 1402. The storage unit 1416 and memory 1414 store theinstructions 1410 embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The instructions 1410 may also reside,completely or partially, within the memory 1414, within the storage unit1416, within at least one of the processors 1404 (e.g., within theprocessor's cache memory), or any suitable combination thereof, duringexecution thereof by the machine 1400. Accordingly, the memory 1414, thestorage unit 1416, and the memory of processors 1404 are examples ofmachine-readable media.

The I/O components 1418 may include a wide variety of components toreceive input, provide output, produce output, transmit information,exchange information, capture measurements, and so on. The specific I/Ocomponents 1418 that are included in a particular machine 1400 willdepend on the type of machine. For example, portable machines such asmobile phones will likely include a touch input device or other suchinput mechanisms, while a headless server machine will likely notinclude such a touch input device. It will be appreciated that the I/Ocomponents 1418 may include many other components that are not shown inFIG. 14 . The I/O components 1418 are grouped according to functionalitymerely for simplifying the following discussion and the grouping is inno way limiting. In various example embodiments, the I/O components 1418may include output components 1426 and input components 1428. The outputcomponents 1426 may include visual components (e.g., a display such as aplasma display panel (PDP), a light emitting diode (LED) display, aliquid crystal display (LCD), a projector, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)),acoustic components (e.g., speakers), haptic components (e.g., avibratory motor, resistance mechanisms), other signal generators, and soforth. The input components 1428 may include alphanumeric inputcomponents (e.g., a keyboard, a touch screen configured to receivealphanumeric input, a photo-optical keyboard, or other alphanumericinput components), point based input components (e.g., a mouse, atouchpad, a trackball, a joystick, a motion sensor, or other pointinginstrument), tactile input components (e.g., a physical button, a touchscreen that provides location and/or force of touches or touch gestures,or other tactile input components), audio input components (e.g., amicrophone), and the like.

In further example embodiments, the I/O components 1418 may includebiometric components 1430, motion components 1434, environmentalenvironment components 1436, or position components 1438 among a widearray of other components. For example, the biometric components 1430may include components to detect expressions (e.g., hand expressions,facial expressions, vocal expressions, body gestures, or eye tracking),measure biosignals (e.g., blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature,perspiration, or brain waves), identify a person (e.g., voiceidentification, retinal identification, facial identification,fingerprint identification, or electroencephalogram basedidentification), and the like. The motion components 1434 may includeacceleration sensor components (e.g., accelerometer), gravitation sensorcomponents, rotation sensor components (e.g., gyroscope), and so forth.The environment components 1436 may include, for example, illuminationsensor components (e.g., photometer), temperature sensor components(e.g., one or more thermometer that detect ambient temperature),humidity sensor components, pressure sensor components (e.g.,barometer), acoustic sensor components (e.g., one or more microphonesthat detect background noise), proximity sensor components (e.g.,infrared sensors that detect nearby objects), gas sensors (e.g., gasdetection sensors to detection concentrations of hazardous gases forsafety or to measure pollutants in the atmosphere), or other componentsthat may provide indications, measurements, or signals corresponding toa surrounding physical environment. The position components 1438 mayinclude location sensor components (e.g., a Global Position system (GPS)receiver component), altitude sensor components (e.g., altimeters orbarometers that detect air pressure from which altitude may be derived),orientation sensor components (e.g., magnetometers), and the like.

Communication may be implemented using a wide variety of technologies.The I/O components 1418 may include communication components 1440operable to couple the machine 1400 to a network 1432 or devices 1420via coupling 1422 and coupling 1424 respectively. For example, thecommunication components 1440 may include a network interface componentor other suitable device to interface with the network 1432. In furtherexamples, communication components 1440 may include wired communicationcomponents, wireless communication components, cellular communicationcomponents, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth®components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and othercommunication components to provide communication via other modalities.The devices 1420 may be another machine or any of a wide variety ofperipheral devices (e.g., a peripheral device coupled via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)).

Moreover, the communication components 1440 may detect identifiers orinclude components operable to detect identifiers. For example, thecommunication components 1440 may include Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) tag reader components, NFC smart tag detection components,optical reader components (e.g., an optical sensor to detectone-dimensional bar codes such as Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code,multi-dimensional bar codes such as Quick Response (QR) code, Azteccode, Data Matrix, Dataglyph, MaxiCode, PDF417, Ultra Code, UCC RSS-2Dbar code, and other optical codes), or acoustic detection components(e.g., microphones to identify tagged audio signals). In addition, avariety of information may be derived via the communication components1440, such as, location via Internet Protocol (IP) geo-location,location via Wi-Fi® signal triangulation, location via detecting a NFCbeacon signal that may indicate a particular location, and so forth.

Glossary

“CARRIER SIGNAL” in this context refers to any intangible medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine, and includes digital or analog communications signals orother intangible medium to facilitate communication of suchinstructions.

Instructions may be transmitted or received over the network using atransmission medium via a network interface device and using any one ofa number of well-known transfer protocols.

“CLIENT DEVICE” in this context refers to any machine that interfaces toa communications network to obtain resources from one or more serversystems or other client devices. A client device may be, but is notlimited to, a mobile phone, desktop computer, laptop, portable digitalassistants (PDAs), smart phones, tablets, ultra books, netbooks,laptops, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, game consoles, set-top boxes, or any othercommunication device that a user may use to access a network.

“COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK” in this context refers to one or more portionsof a network that may be an ad hoc network, an intranet, an extranet, avirtual private network (VPN), a local area network (LAN), a wirelessLAN (WLAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless WAN (WWAN), ametropolitan area network (MAN), the Internet, a portion of theInternet, a portion of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), aplain old telephone service (POTS) network, a cellular telephonenetwork, a wireless network, a Wi-Fi® network, another type of network,or a combination of two or more such networks. For example, a network ora portion of a network may include a wireless or cellular network andthe coupling may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) connection, aGlobal System for Mobile communications (GSM) connection, or other typeof cellular or wireless coupling. In this example, the coupling mayimplement any of a variety of types of data transfer technology, such asSingle Carrier Radio Transmission Technology (1×RTT), Evolution-DataOptimized (EVDO) technology, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)technology, Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology,third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) including 3G, fourthgeneration wireless (4G) networks, Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (UMTS), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), Long Term Evolution (LTE)standard, others defined by various standard setting organizations,other long range protocols, or other data transfer technology.

“EMPHEMERAL MESSAGE” in this context refers to a message that isaccessible for a time-limited duration. An ephemeral message may be atext, an image, a video and the like. The access time for the ephemeralmessage may be set by the message sender. Alternatively, the access timemay be a default setting or a setting specified by the recipient.Regardless of the setting technique, the message is transitory.

“MACHINE-READABLE MEDIUM” in this context refers to a component, deviceor other tangible media able to store instructions and data temporarilyor permanently and may include, but is not be limited to, random-accessmemory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory,optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, other types of storage(e.g., Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and/or anysuitable combination thereof. The term “machine-readable medium” shouldbe taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers)able to store instructions. The term “machine-readable medium” shallalso be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media,that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by amachine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or moreof the methodologies described herein. Accordingly, a “machine-readablemedium” refers to a single storage apparatus or device, as well as“cloud-based” storage systems or storage networks that include multiplestorage apparatus or devices. The term “machine-readable medium”excludes signals per se.

“COMPONENT” in this context refers to a device, physical entity or logichaving boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branchpoints, application program interfaces (APIs), or other technologiesthat provide for the partitioning or modularization of particularprocessing or control functions. Components may be combined via theirinterfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. Acomponent may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for usewith other components and a part of a program that usually performs aparticular function of related functions. Components may constituteeither software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readablemedium) or hardware components. A “hardware component” is a tangibleunit capable of performing certain operations and may be configured orarranged in a certain physical manner. In various example embodiments,one or more computer systems (e.g., a standalone computer system, aclient computer system, or a server computer system) or one or morehardware components of a computer system (e.g., a processor or a groupof processors) may be configured by software (e.g., an application orapplication portion) as a hardware component that operates to performcertain operations as described herein. A hardware component may also beimplemented mechanically, electronically, or any suitable combinationthereof. For example, a hardware component may include dedicatedcircuitry or logic that is permanently configured to perform certainoperations. A hardware component may be a special-purpose processor,such as a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or an ApplicationSpecific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). A hardware component may alsoinclude programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configuredby software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardwarecomponent may include software executed by a general-purpose processoror other programmable processor. Once configured by such software,hardware components become specific machines (or specific components ofa machine) uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and areno longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that thedecision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicatedand permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configuredcircuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and timeconsiderations. Accordingly, the phrase “hardware component” (or“hardware-implemented component”) should be understood to encompass atangible entity, be that an entity that is physically constructed,permanently configured (e.g., hardwired), or temporarily configured(e.g., programmed) to operate in a certain manner or to perform certainoperations described herein. Considering embodiments in which hardwarecomponents are temporarily configured (e.g., programmed), each of thehardware components need not be configured or instantiated at any oneinstance in time. For example, where a hardware component comprises ageneral-purpose processor configured by software to become aspecial-purpose processor, the general-purpose processor may beconfigured as respectively different special-purpose processors (e.g.,comprising different hardware components) at different times. Softwareaccordingly configures a particular processor or processors, forexample, to constitute a particular hardware component at one instanceof time and to constitute a different hardware component at a differentinstance of time. Hardware components can provide information to, andreceive information from, other hardware components. Accordingly, thedescribed hardware components may be regarded as being communicativelycoupled. Where multiple hardware components exist contemporaneously,communications may be achieved through signal transmission (e.g., overappropriate circuits and buses) between or among two or more of thehardware components. In embodiments in which multiple hardwarecomponents are configured or instantiated at different times,communications between such hardware components may be achieved, forexample, through the storage and retrieval of information in memorystructures to which the multiple hardware components have access. Forexample, one hardware component may perform an operation and store theoutput of that operation in a memory device to which it iscommunicatively coupled. A further hardware component may then, at alater time, access the memory device to retrieve and process the storedoutput. Hardware components may also initiate communications with inputor output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., a collection ofinformation). The various operations of example methods described hereinmay be performed, at least partially, by one or more processors that aretemporarily configured (e.g., by software) or permanently configured toperform the relevant operations. Whether temporarily or permanentlyconfigured, such processors may constitute processor-implementedcomponents that operate to perform one or more operations or functionsdescribed herein. As used herein, “processor-implemented component”refers to a hardware component implemented using one or more processors.Similarly, the methods described herein may be at least partiallyprocessor-implemented, with a particular processor or processors beingan example of hardware. For example, at least some of the operations ofa method may be performed by one or more processors orprocessor-implemented components. Moreover, the one or more processorsmay also operate to support performance of the relevant operations in a“cloud computing” environment or as a “software as a service” (SaaS).For example, at least some of the operations may be performed by a groupof computers (as examples of machines including processors), with theseoperations being accessible via a network (e.g., the Internet) and viaone or more appropriate interfaces (e.g., an Application ProgramInterface (API)). The performance of certain of the operations may bedistributed among the processors, not only residing within a singlemachine, but deployed across a number of machines. In some exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may belocated in a single geographic location (e.g., within a homeenvironment, an office environment, or a server farm). In other exampleembodiments, the processors or processor-implemented components may bedistributed across a number of geographic locations.

“PROCESSOR” in this context refers to any circuit or virtual circuit (aphysical circuit emulated by logic executing on an actual processor)that manipulates data values according to control signals (e.g.,“commands”, “op codes”, “machine code”, etc.) and which producescorresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. Aprocessor may, for example, be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), aReduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a ComplexInstruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit(GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), an Application SpecificIntegrated Circuit (ASIC), a Radio-Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC)or any combination thereof. A processor may further be a multi-coreprocessor having two or more independent processors (sometimes referredto as “cores”) that may execute instructions contemporaneously.

“TIMESTAMP” in this context refers to a sequence of characters orencoded information identifying when a certain event occurred, forexample giving date and time of day, sometimes accurate to a smallfraction of a second.

“LIFT” in this context is a measure of the performance of a targetedmodel at predicting or classifying cases as having an enhanced response(with respect to a population as a whole), measured against a randomchoice targeting model.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: detecting, at a first clientdevice, a second client device within a predefined proximity of thefirst client device; accessing user interaction data associated with thefirst client device and the second client device; accessing an animatedicon associated with both the first client device and the second clientdevice based on the user interaction data responsive to detecting thesecond client device within the predefined proximity of the first clientdevice; causing display of a presentation of the animated icon at thefirst client device based on the detecting the second client devicewithin the predefined proximity of the first client device; receiving,at the first client device, a user input that comprises inputattributes, the input attributes including an input type from among aplurality of input types, each input type among the plurality of inputtypes corresponding with a value; determining the value that correspondswith the input type of the user input based on at least the inputattributes; determining a display state of the animated icon based onthe value that corresponds with the input type of the user input; andmodifying the presentation of the animated icon at the first clientdevice based on the display state.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedetermining the display state of the animated icon includes: accessing adisplay state model associated with the animated icon, the display statemodel comprising a state indicator at a first position along the displaystate model, the first position of the state indicator defining a firstdisplay state of an animated icon; transitioning the state indicatorfrom the first position to a second position based on the value thatcorresponds with the input type of the user input, the second positioncorresponding with a second display state; and causing display of thepresentation of the animated icon based on the second display state. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the user input includes a tactile inputonto a graphical user interface.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein thereceiving the user input further comprises: causing display of a set ofgraphical elements that include a first graphical element, the firstgraphical element corresponding with the user input type; and whereinthe user input comprises a selection of the first graphical element. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein the animated icon comprises iconproperties, and wherein the determining the value of the user inputincludes determining the value of the user input based on the inputattributes and the icon properties of the animated icon.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the causing display of the presentation of theanimated icon further comprises causing display of the presentation ofthe animated icon within a chat interface.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the causing display of the presentation of the animated iconincludes: detecting the first client device within the predefined rangeof the second client device; determining a relationship between thefirst client device and the second client device; and causing display ofthe presentation of the animated icon at the first client device basedon the relationship.
 8. A system comprising: a memory; and at least onehardware processor coupled to the memory and comprising instructionsthat causes the system to perform operations comprising: detecting, at afirst client device, a second client device within a predefinedproximity of the first client device; accessing user interaction dataassociated with the first client device and the second client device;accessing an animated icon associated with both the first client deviceand the second client device based on the user interaction dataresponsive to detecting the second client device within the predefinedproximity of the first client device; causing display of a presentationof the animated icon at the first client device based on the detectingthe second client device within the predefined proximity of the firstclient device; receiving, at the first client device, a user input thatcomprises input attributes, the input attributes including an input typefrom among a plurality of input types, each input type among theplurality of input types corresponding with a value; determining thevalue that corresponds with the input type of the user input based on atleast the input attributes; determining a display state of the animatedicon based on the value that corresponds with the input type of the userinput; and modifying the presentation of the animated icon at the firstclient device based on the display state.
 9. The system of claim 8,wherein the determining the display state of the animated icon includes:accessing a display state model associated with the animated icon, thedisplay state model comprising a state indicator at a first positionalong the display state model, the first position of the state indicatordefining a first display state of an animated icon; transitioning thestate indicator from the first position to a second position based onthe value of the user input, the second position corresponding with asecond display state; and causing display of the presentation of theanimated icon based on the second display state.
 10. The system of claim8, wherein the user input includes a tactile input onto a graphical userinterface.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the receiving the userinput further comprises: causing display of a set of graphical elementsthat include a first graphical element, the first graphical elementcorresponding with the user input type; and wherein the user inputcomprises a selection of the first graphical element.
 12. The system ofclaim 8, wherein the animated icon comprises icon properties, andwherein the determining the value of the user input includes determiningthe value of the user input based on the input attributes and the iconproperties of the animated icon.
 13. The system of claim 8, wherein thecausing display of the presentation of the animated icon furthercomprises causing display of the presentation of the animated iconwithin a chat interface.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein the causingdisplay of the presentation of the animated icon includes: detecting thefirst client device within the predefined range of the second clientdevice; determining a relationship between the first client device andthe second client device; and causing display of the presentation of theanimated icon at the first client device based on the relationship. 15.A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors of a machine, cause themachine to perform operations comprising: detecting, at a first clientdevice, a second client device within a predefined proximity of thefirst client device; accessing user interaction data associated with thefirst client device and the second client device; accessing an animatedicon associated with both the first client device and the second clientdevice based on the user interaction data responsive to detecting thesecond client device within the predefined proximity of the first clientdevice; causing display of a presentation of the animated icon at thefirst client device based on the detecting the second client devicewithin the predefined proximity of the first client device; receiving,at the first client device, a user input that comprises inputattributes, the input attributes including an input type from among aplurality of input types, each input type among the plurality of inputtypes corresponding with a value; determining the value that correspondswith the input type of the user input based on at least the inputattributes; determining a display state of the animated icon based onthe value that corresponds with the input type of the user input; andmodifying the presentation of the animated icon at the first clientdevice based on the display state.
 16. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determining thedisplay state of the animated icon includes: accessing a display statemodel associated with the animated icon, the display state modelcomprising a state indicator at a first position along the display statemodel, the first position of the state indicator defining a firstdisplay state of an animated icon; transitioning the state indicatorfrom the first position to a second position based on the value of theuser input, the second position corresponding with a second displaystate; and causing display of the presentation of the animated iconbased on the second display state.
 17. The non-transitorymachine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the user inputincludes a tactile input onto a graphical user interface.
 18. Thenon-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein thereceiving the user input further comprises: causing display of a set ofgraphical elements that include a first graphical element, the firstgraphical element corresponding with the user input type; and whereinthe user input comprises a selection of the first graphical element. 19.The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, whereinthe animated icon comprises icon properties, and wherein the determiningthe value of the user input includes determining the value of the userinput based on the input attributes and the icon properties of theanimated icon.
 20. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium ofclaim 15, wherein the causing display of the presentation of theanimated icon further comprises causing display of the presentation ofthe animated icon within a chat interface.